What Makes a Product Difficult to Authenticate? 7 Factors Brands Should Know

An authentic product must be easily identifiable by its owner, but that doesn't always mean it's easy to authenticate. Some products have simple designs, while others include complex components or manufacturing processes.

Product verification becomes particularly difficult if a counterfeiter can copy the product's exterior appearance. The brand name, label, package, or color may no longer provide the full picture. 

Knowing what makes the product unique and how readily an alternative party can copy this uniqueness will help brands select appropriate protection measures. Anti counterfeit solutions can support this approach by adding security features that do not depend entirely on the product's visible design.

1. A Simple Physical Appearance

A product with a simple design is easy to counterfeit. Counterfeiters may replicate the simple design without even knowing how the real product was manufactured.

Consider a plain bottle, a simple accessory, or a consumer good. There may not be much on the outside that would differentiate it from a fake.

Brands can use other methods to verify their products.

2. Packaging That Relies Only on Visual Details

Packaging usually carries a significant part of a brand's identity. Consumers will instantly recognize colors, fonts, graphics, seals, and logos used on the packaging.

The counterfeiters have enough time to study and replicate these elements. Modern printing technology allows high-quality replications, especially when the packaging has no security elements.

Therefore, packaging verification is necessary. The anti counterfeiting packaging can add new elements that cannot be easily replicated without changing the packaging's look and functionality.

3. Products Made from Common Materials

Materials can also affect product authenticity. Products made from abundantly available plastic, metals, glass, paper, and fabrics may not have physical attributes that differentiate them from duplicates.

Counterfeiters can obtain similar materials and replicate them accordingly.

A digital tag, hidden symbol, micro-symbol, and other indicators may provide information beyond the scope of materials.

Anti counterfeiting technology can incorporate such information without redesigning the product itself.

4. Products With Large Production Volumes

Large volume products pose an operational problem. A producer may manufacture a million or more products per year. Testing each one will take a lot of time and money.

Thus, systems that can be applied at scale are needed.

An ideal authentication system should fit into the production process and not require stopping the process for verification.

Digital authentication can be used in some situations, since authorized persons can verify products with a compatible device or system.

5. Products That Pass Through Many Hands

The more times a product passes from one hand to another, the more difficult it is to verify its authenticity. This happens because the manufacturer sells the product to a distributor, who then provides it to a wholesaler, retailer, repair shop, or any other intermediary.

By the time the product reaches the consumer, many firms may be involved.

A supply chain record can show where the product was supposed to go. However, it cannot always verify the physical product as authentic.

That is why businesses need to use anti-counterfeit solutions alongside tracking mechanisms.

6. Products With Frequently Copied Branding

The advantage of branding is that it makes the product recognizable; however, it can also attract copying. Counterfeiters can copy the logo, brand name, colors, typography, and even packaging design because these elements already have market value.

A logo alone does not mean a product is genuine, since anyone can put a copied logo on a product.

Security information can be concealed from counterfeiters by adding it to the product in a way that is not easy to identify.

It can also help investigators distinguish an authentic item from a highly deceptive replica.

7. Items Available in Various Markets

International sales can pose another authentication challenge. The same product may be packaged and labeled differently depending on the market.

As a result, a consumer may see it as an authentic variation of the product.

This is where the counterfeiters take advantage of this situation. One regional version can be copied and sold elsewhere, making comparison difficult.

Firms operating across different markets should use product information and authentication techniques that work everywhere.

Why Visible Features Alone May Not Be Enough

Visible security features can play a significant role. Holograms, stickers, seals, color-changing features, and printed codes can help consumers recognize their products.

But visible characteristics also give counterfeiters something to learn. When they know them well enough, counterfeiters can copy them. This does not mean visible security characteristics are worthless; it shows why companies should consider other options.

Visible and invisible security characteristics can offer different options for different users to check whether products are real or fake.

Authentication Should Match the Product

Not all methods work for all products. An electronic device requires something other than a luxury bag. A medicine box needs something other than an auto part.

The manufacturer needs to consider the item's production process, production volume, distribution areas, and who needs to check the items.

The counterfeiter's behavior also needs to be considered. If the package can be easily copied, the authentication system needs to offer something more than just the package design.

The Role of Product-Level Identification

Product-level identification may help improve the verification process.

This is because, rather than only checking the authenticity of a brand's packaging appearance, the verifier can examine properties specific to the product itself.

Product-level identification can be especially helpful when products have significant value and involve a long, complex supply chain.

Product identification can help in investigations involving suspicious products with unique identities.

Making Authentication Practical

Security is only useful if it is usable. An overly complex authentication procedure could deter employees, merchants, and customers from checking their merchandise.

In light of this, the business needs to take a practical approach right from the outset. A good security procedure must be reliable in regular production, distribution, retailing, and customer use without adding day-to-day burden to employees. Who will check the item? How will they do it? How long will it take? What happens if the results are suspicious?

Where AlpVision Serves the Objective

AlpVision's technologies involve covert product authentication. AlpVision's Cryptoglyph technology creates tiny patterns in varnished prints. These patterns are not visible to the naked eye but can be used for digital authentication.

Another technology is the AlpVision Fingerprint that relies on natural microscopic irregularities in plastic parts and produces a fingerprint at the product level.

This approach solves a common issue of visible security elements. A fake manufacturer will see the logo, label, or hologram and know what to duplicate. With an invisible authentication element, the verifier gets additional information.